


Hard Headed SEAL

by wenwalke



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Complete, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 16:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5382890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wenwalke/pseuds/wenwalke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve receives a head injury he returns to headquarters looking for Danny forgetting that he's left Danny alone, and injured, in the forest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own them, they belong to CBS. I'm just playing with them for a while.
> 
> Note: I wrote this in February 2014. Just getting around to posting it here.

This was stupid; at least that's what Danny thought as he ran through the forest in pursuit of his partner. He hated forests because Steve always managed to find trouble whenever he dragged Danny into one, and Danny just knew that this time would be no exception.

They were in pursuit of Wally Fallen who was a suspect in the theft of $100,000.00 worth of diamonds from the jewellery store he worked for. They only picked this case up because Chin knew the owner of the store and Five-0 was slow right now, so he'd offered their help. Danny and Steve had tracked Wally to a cheap motel up on the North Shore, and everything would have been fine if Steve hadn't threatened to shoot Wally when he refused to open the door. By the time Steve then broke down the door, Wally was out the bathroom window and entering the forest behind the motel.

"Steve, wait!" Danny grabbed Steve's arm in an attempt to stop him from following Wally out of the window.

"Let me go," Steve said as he shook off Danny's restraining hand. "He's getting away. I have to catch him."

"He won't go far, Steve. He's not the outdoor type. He'll be back soon, or we can let HPD go after him." Danny had moved in front of the window effectively blocking Steve's attempt to climb out. "You, my friend, have a doctor's appointment in your future."

"No. I don't. I've told you already, there's nothing wrong with me. Now move!" Steve aggressively shoved Danny aside sending him spinning. Before Danny could collect himself and jump back up from where he'd fallen onto the bed, Steve was out the window and running for the edge of the forest.

"Damn crazy SEAL!" Danny exclaimed as he climbed out of the window and raced after Steve.

Danny knew there was something wrong with Steve, and there had been for a while. He could trace the change in Steve back to an event that had occurred close to three weeks ago. Steve had tackled a fleeing suspect and they'd both hit the side of a building, hard. Both men were rendered unconscious and Steve sustained a severe concussion while the suspect was hardly injured at all. 

It was the next day before Steve woke, unable to remember anything that had happened the previous day. Tests were run, CT scans were done, but nothing showed up, so the doctor released Steve, telling him he was to rest for two weeks as he'd rattled his brain hard and it would take time to heal. He was under orders to return to the hospital if he experienced headaches, memory loss, confusion or any other symptoms.

Danny had picked Steve up and driven him home, despite Steve's wish to go to headquarters. Somehow, Danny, Chin and Kono managed, for a week, to thwart every effort Steve made to go back to work. But four days ago that all changed when Danny came into work and Steve was already there and refused to leave. He seemed fine, said his head was better and there was no reason he couldn't be in the office. Of course Danny knew that Steve's version of 'being in the office' didn't mean staying in the office.

Now as he ran, Danny's mind sifted through everything that happened over the last four days. Yes Steve seemed fine, but Danny was sure he still got headaches, and he'd caught some confused looks on Steve's face that shouldn't have been there. Then there was the quick temper that reared its head with no warning. Kono had left in tears just yesterday when Steve had chewed her out about not being able to find Wally Fallen as fast as Steve thought she should. Danny and Chin had not been immune either; they had both been on the receiving end off Steve's temper in the last few days. 

When Danny suggested Steve stay home longer, or go see his doctor and get checked out again, Steve simply walked away saying "I'm good. Leave me alone." Just that morning concerned for Steve, Danny called Steve's doctor at the hospital and explained Steve's behaviour to him. The doctor suggested that Steve should go in for more tests as the things Danny described could all point to an injury to Steve's brain that had not shown up in prior tests.

Danny spoke to Chin about the best way to coerce Steve into going in for tests, but before they could come up with anything Steve burst into Danny's office waving a piece of paper. "I found Wally up on the North Shore. Let's go Danny." Without waiting for a reply Steve rushed out and Danny had to hustle to catch up with him.

Now Danny found himself in the forest, trying to keep his partner in sight as they chased Wally. This whole situation was not good. Steve had actually pushed him hard enough that he could have been hurt, if not for the fact he'd landed on the bed. Danny knew there was definitely something seriously wrong with Steve and he had to get him to the hospital soon, before anything else happened. 

It wasn't long before Steve caught up to Wally and Danny saw them both go down as Steve tackled him. Steve was the first to recover, though slower than he normally would, and by the time Danny reached them, Steve was beating Wally with his fists. 

"Steve Stop!" Danny yelled as he reached the pair. Nothing happened. There was no reaction from Steve; it was as if Danny hadn't yelled at all, as if Steve couldn't, or wouldn't hear him. 

Danny moved around in front of Steve to try again. He could now see blood on the right side of Steve's forehead where he must have hit it on something. That's all he needs, Danny thought, another hit to the head to make things worse than they already are.

Wally was already close to being unconscious, as Steve prepared to hit him again. Danny knew he had to intervene or Wally would be dead. "I said stop!" Danny yelled as he caught Steve's upraised arm in an attempt to stop the angry SEAL.

That turned out to be the wrong move for Danny. Steve reacted instantly to a perceived threat. He surged up and twisted Danny's grip on his arm to bring Danny's right arm up behind his back. Danny was sure he heard at least one bone snap and the pain was unbelievable. Then a solid punch landed on the left side of Danny's head and his vision greyed out briefly. Suddenly he was spun around and being used as a punching bag with fast blows to his body which took his breath away.

When Steve had surged up, Danny had seen his eyes and the right pupil was blown. That could only mean the fall had caused more damage to Steve's brain and Danny knew that he was in real trouble as Steve failed to recognise him.

Danny had learned to fight on the streets and knew he needed to find some distance from Steve if he was going to survive. So he dropped and rolled away, coming to his feet out of Steve's reach. The pain that roll caused to his arm almost made Danny black out, but he couldn't, Steve needed help and there was only Danny there to help him.

"Steve, it's me, Danny. Come on babe, stop this now." Danny was desperate to make Steve see who he was, not some threat, but his partner. The good thing was that at least Steve was not beating on Wally anymore. "Come on Steve. Listen to me please. You have a head injury and don't know what you're doing."

Steve advanced towards Danny with no sign that he recognised him, or even heard what he'd said. Danny figured that this was Steve in full SEAL mode and that was a very scary thing to see at any time, but when it was directed towards you?

Danny tried to figure a way to incapacitate his partner without hurting him, so to that end he eased his cuffs from his pocket as he slowly backed away. He certainly could not afford to hit Steve in the head and knock him out, that's for sure. When Steve grabbed for him, Danny managed to snap one cuff around Steve's right wrist before he was knocked to the ground by the SEAL.

The two struggled together, but Danny was at a severe disadvantage with a useless right arm. During the struggle the two rolled together to the edge of a gully where they were stopped by a stand of young trees. Steve took the brunt of the hit against one tree and was momentarily winded. Danny was able to disengage himself and drew Steve's right arm around a tree snapping the other cuff on Steve's left wrist just as he started to revive. It cost him though as he'd had to use his right arm and the pain intensified ten fold.

Steve roared in anger and struggled with the cuffs, but he was truly stuck. Danny figured there was no way Steve could get out of them and even if he stood, there was no way he could reach the key in his pocket.

Danny had moved away after he'd cuffed Steve, now he eased himself up, his ribs really hurt and he wouldn't be surprised if a couple weren't cracked. He held his right arm tightly against his body as he circled around Steve to reach Wally who was barely conscious. It was good that Danny had put his zip ties in his left pocket or he'd never have been able to put one around Wally's wrists. Not that Wally was going anywhere the state he was in. Once that was done, Danny sat down on a rock as a wave of dizziness overtook him. Everything hurt. His face from the hit Steve had given him, and he was pretty sure his cheek was split open because he could feel the warm blood as it trickled down. His arm definitely had at least one broken bone and he was pretty sure it was useless right now. 

Steve had gone quiet and lay there watching Danny's every move. He still showed no sign that he recognised Danny in any way which was really worrisome. "I'm calling Chin for help, Steve," Danny said as he pulled his phone from his pocket, but one look told him his phone would never work again. The screen was broken and it was dead. "Great." Danny said in disgust as he tossed the phone away. "You owe me yet another phone babe."

Cautiously Danny pushed himself up and approached Steve. He could see Steve's phone still attached to his belt, apparently undamaged by the looks of it. He needed to check Steve's phone and he hoped that with his arms handcuffed around the tree, Steve would not be able to do anything. How wrong could he be! Danny soon found out that Steve didn't need his arms when he had two perfectly good legs. He had just put his hand on Steve's phone when a powerful kick from Steve flipped him into the air and he catapulted down the slope into the gully. He landed awkwardly on his feet and felt his bad knee go out. Then he couldn't stop himself from falling flat on his back where his head connected with a rock, and he descended into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve stumbled slowly into Five-0 headquarters and headed to Danny's office. He really wasn't feeling well and knew it was time he told Danny about the headaches, memory lapses and disorientation he'd been experiencing. In fact he couldn't remember why he was by himself in Danny's Camaro, or where Danny was. All he knew was that he needed to find Danny. 

Chin rushed out of his office as he saw Steve come in and then lean against the wall by the door to Danny's office looking around in confusion. "Steve, are you okay?" Chin asked as he approached cautiously, "I've been trying to reach you and Danny for the last two hours."

"What? Danny's not here?" Steve started to slide down the wall and ended in a seated slump as Chin helped control his descent. As he drew closer to Steve, Chin got a good look at his face and realised that there was blood on his forehead and Steve's eyes had two different sized pupils. Quickly, Chin called for an ambulance and then called Kono, who was on a coffee run, to get back fast. Steve said nothing he seemed unaware of anything going on around him.

Kono walked in just behind an EMT. "Chin, Wally Fallen is outside in the back of the Camaro and he doesn't look good. I'd say someone used his face for a punching bag. I had the other EMT check on him." She looked around, then asked, "Where's Danny?"

"I don't know. Steve came in without Danny and seemed to think he was here." It was obvious to Chin that Steve had been in some sort of altercation, probably with Wally. But that didn't fit with what they knew about Wally who was not a violent person. So if Wally was in the Camaro and Steve had driven them here, where was Danny?

"Whoa, what? But they left together to go up to the North Shore. If Steve has Danny's car, how could Danny get back here?" Kono spun around and looked at the door as if expecting Danny to come through it at any moment. This was not good. Steve was obviously hurt, and Danny was missing. No! This was definitely not good.

"That's just it, Kono. I don't think Danny came back. I think Steve left him up there." Chin had stood up when the EMT arrived and now paced restlessly as he watched the EMT work on Steve.

Kono looked at Chin as if he'd lost his mind. "No way! Steve would never leave Danny behind."

"Look at his eyes Kono." Chin gestured at the SEAL who now lay prone on the floor.

While Chin and Kono talked, the EMT had eased Steve down flat on the floor. After checking Steve's vitals and starting an IV he'd called his partner who now appeared pushing a gurney. "Joe, we need to scoop and run, I don't like the fact his right eye is not responding to light."

Kono's breath caught in her throat at the comment, but Chin moved forward and helped load Steve onto the gurney which was then quickly pushed out of the door.

Chin turned back to Kono. "I'm going to follow the ambulance to the hospital. I need you to run a trace on Danny's phone." When Kono didn't respond, Chin tried again. "Kono! Run a trace on Danny's phone. We need to find him."

Finally coming out of her daze, Kono nodded and turned to walk over to the computer. "Call me, Chin," she said over her shoulder.

"I will, and you call me if you find where Danny is." With that, Chin was gone.

The ambulance took Steve to Queen's Medical Centre, the closest hospital to Five-0 headquarters. Chin was close behind as Steve was pushed into the E.R. He needed to talk with Steve. He was the only person who could tell him where Danny was. On his way out of headquarters Chin had check on Wally Fallen only to learn that he was unconscious, possibly in a coma from the beating he'd taken. The ambulance bringing him to Queen's was not far behind Steve's own ambulance.

Kono called just as Chin parked his car. "There's no signal from Danny's phone. I tried to activate it remotely, but no go." 

"Okay, get down here then," Chin answered.

Chin pushed his way into the trauma bay where Steve had been taken. "I need a couple of minute Doctor." Chin said as he flashed his badge.

"You'll have to wait. This man needs urgent care." The doctor replied.

"I'm sorry. This can not wait. His partner is still missing." Chin pointed at Steve. "He is the only person who can tell me where to look for him."

"Okay, you have two minutes. Then he goes for an MRI." The doctor moved aside allowing Chin close to Steve's head.

"Steve, you with me?" Chin asked. Steve was slow to turn his head and not able to focus on Chin at all. 

"Danny? Where's Danny, Chin?"

"I was hoping that you would tell me, Steve. The two of you headed up to the North Shore a couple of hours ago. You came back with Wally Fallen and no Danny, is he still up there?"

Steve shook his head in confusion. "I don't know, Chin. My head really hurts." As Steve put his right hand up to his head Chin saw handcuffs fall from the sleeve of his shirt, one cuff still around his wrist. Chin caught Steve's hand and examined the cuffs. The loose cuff was also fastened so Chin reached over and lifted Steve's left hand and saw bruising around the thumb.

"That looks like the thumb was dislocated." The doctor helpfully supplied.

"Yeah," Chin said. "Steve, did Danny handcuff you?" Chin asked as he turned back to Steve.

But all he could do was watch as Steve's eyes rolled back in his head and he started to shake as he convulsed.

"He's having a seizure," the doctor yelled. "You out now," he continued as he pushed Chin towards the door. More nurses rushed into the room, and Chin found himself out in the hallway.

A half hour later Kono had joined Chin as he waited for news on Steve. He'd seen them wheel Steve out for an MRI, but as of yet he still was not back. None of this was good. Steve seemed to have some kind of head injury, which on top of the severe concussion he'd recently suffered? Well this was just very bad as far as Chin could tell.

"Steve?" Kono asked.

"They took him for an MRI a while ago." Chin sat up straighter. "What did you find?" He knew that Kono would have tried everything she could to find Danny before she came to the hospital, especially as it didn't take that long to get there.

"I spoke to the owner of that motel on the North Shore. He said he saw Steve and Danny chase Wally into the forest but he didn't see them return. Next time he looked out the Camaro was gone." Kono fidgeted in her seat. "We need to get up there and find Danny. I have a bad feeling about this, and, there's a storm coming in."

Chin stood, "Okay. I'll go up there while you stay here with Steve. When you hear something, call me." But as he turned to leave the E.R. doctor who was treating Steve approached.

"How's Steve, Doc?" Chin asked.

"Let's sit." The doctor said. Chin frowned. It was never good when the doctor wanted to have everyone seated.

"Commander McGarrett is on his way to surgery to relieve the pressure building inside his skull. The concussion he sustained three weeks ago caused a very slow bleed which has been building up pressure. The hit he took today just made it worse. He must have had headaches, disorientation, even memory loss?" The doctor looked from Chin to Kono questioningly.

"Danny suspected something was wrong even though Steve kept telling us he was fine." Chin answered. "This morning Danny spoke to me about getting Steve to go see his doctor, but then Steve found our suspect and the two took off for the North Shore."

"That's why you needed to talk to the Commander? He came back without his partner?"

"Yes." Chin stood. "No Danny, but a badly beaten suspect."

"How long will the surgery take?" Kono asked as she too stood wringing her hands in worry.

"A number of hours I'm afraid. It's very delicate and the surgeon needs to stop the slow bleed as well as relieve the pressure."

"Then I'm going with you, Chin." Kono said as she looked from the doctor to Chin. "I'm not sitting here just waiting while Danny is out there somewhere, probably hurt and in need of our help. I need to be doing something, anything, to find him." 

"We'll call if you're not back before the Commander is out of surgery." The ER doctor had also stood and waved at the two Five-0 teammates to go as he spoke.

"Thanks," Chin called as both he and Kono rushed out. It had now been two hours since Steve came back without Danny, and with a storm starting they needed to find him sooner, rather than later.


	3. Chapter 3

He was wet? Why was he wet? It felt like he was lying out in the rain which is something he would never do. Danny's return to consciousness was slow and painful. He kept his eyes closed as he catalogued each ache or pain and remembered how he'd gotten them all. Now he had two new pains, the back of his head where it had hit, what he assumed was a rock, and his bad knee that had given out on him when he'd landed.

Slowly Danny opened his eyes. It was raining, that was for sure, but not too hard yet. The sky was grey and he could hear thunder in the distance. Just great, a storm, that's all we need. Danny thought. 

With a grunt of pain, Danny turned his head to look at Steve where he had secured him to the tree, but Steve was gone. "Steve? Steve where are you?" Danny called. His question was met with silence. 

Danny tried to push himself up but couldn't. "Oh does that hurt," Danny griped. "Everything hurts thanks to you babe so where the hell are you? Did you pull some Ninja trick to get out of those cuffs? I would love to come up there and look for you, but it looks like I'll be staying here for a while longer." As he raised his left hand to feel the back of his head, Danny realised he was holding Steve's phone.

"Whoa, that's weird. I didn't think I got your phone, big guy, let alone managed to hold onto it as I flew through the air." It wasn't easy working the screen lock with only his left hand, but try as he might his right arm wouldn't work. Danny finally managed to input Steve's password and see that the phone was usable. In the process he noticed that four hours had elapsed since he and Steve reached the motel. There was only one bar of signal but that would just have to be enough Danny thought as he pushed the speed dial for Chin's number.

Chin answered on the second ring. "Danny, where are you? Are you alright?" 

"Huh? How did you know it was me and not Super SEAL McGarrett?"

"Because Steve's in the hospital, Danny." Kono answered.

"What? Is he alright?" 

"Danny. Tell us were you are. We'll talk about Steve when we find you." Chin interrupted before Kono could tell Danny any more. They needed to concentrate on Danny right now, and Chin knew that the doctors were taking good care of Steve.

"I don't know where I am, Chin. You think I can tell one part of a forest from the next? All I know is that I chased after Steve when he ran after Wally." Danny sighed. He knew Steve must be hurt pretty bad, because Chin had stopped Kono from answering his question.

"No worries," Kono cut in. "I'm tracking you now."

"We were already on our way Danny, so it shouldn't be too long before we reach you." Chin volunteered. "But there's a storm coming in so you need to find shelter somewhere if you can."

"Sorry, Chin, no can do. My Super SEAL friend did a number on me and my knees out so I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Danny grimaced in pain as he again tried to sit up.

"Steve hurt you?" Kono asked incredulity in her voice. 

"Long story, too tired to tell it right now." Danny answered.

"Are you in a safe place, Danny?" Chin asked with concern.

"I'm at the bottom of a gully, in a forest Chin. So no I don't think I'm in a safe place, in fact I'm sure that I'm not actually." Danny was now soaked to the skin and the rain seemed to be collecting in the bottom of the gully with him.

"Wait. You're at the bottom of a gully?" Chin questioned even more concern in his voice.

"Yeah, you heard right. Steve managed to knock me down here with his legs even though I had him fastened to a tree. How did he get out of those cuffs anyway?"

Chin and Kono looked at each other, and Chin pressed harder on the accelerator. They both knew that the gullies in the forest were how the water ran off from a heavy rainstorm and if Danny was at the bottom of one of those gullies he was in danger of drowning.

"Hello. You two still there?" Danny asked.

"Sorry, Danny," Kono answered. "Yes we're still here. Steve dislocated the thump of his left hand so he could remove a cuff. He showed up at headquarters over two hours ago with Wally Fallen." Kono looked at Chin. She did not want to be the one to tell Danny that Steve was having brain surgery right now.

"I know what you're doing you know." Danny said quietly. "You are trying to distract me so I won't ask you again about Steve. But I know it's bad. I saw his right eye. He has a brain bleed doesn't he?" Danny held Steve's phone on his chest as he waited for an answer to his question. The water around him was slightly higher than before, and the rain was getting harder every minute.

It was Chin who finally answered. "Steve's in surgery right now Danny. The doctors are trying to relieve the pressure on his brain and stop the bleeding." 

"Oh." was all Danny managed.

"We're almost at the motel Danny. Just hold on a little longer." Kono said.

"Not going anywhere, Kono." Danny replied in a flat voice. He ran his left hand over his face to wipe away some of the rain water and if there was a tear or two in there, no one but he needed to know. His partner, and best friend, was having brain surgery and somehow Danny was sure it was because he didn't act fast enough to get Steve to see a doctor. He'd known something was wrong, why didn't he push Steve to get help? Why did he let Steve come up to the North Shore at all? He should have stopped him, or at least made him wait until after he'd seen a doctor. Now when his friend needed him the most, he wasn't there but stuck in a gully filling with water. 

"Danny! Danny, answer me." Danny became aware of Kono's frantic plea and realised that he had zoned out. "Danny, we're in the forest and headed towards you. Answer me now or I'll kick your butt when we find you." Danny could hear Kono's laboured breathing as she ran through the forest.

"Yeah I'm still here, Kono. Sorry I think I zoned out there for a while."

"Five minutes, Danny! It's been five minutes." 

Suddenly Danny realised that the water was up past his ears and lapping at his face. He tried to push himself up on his left elbow, but his cracked ribs seemed to grind together as he moved. "Huh, maybe broken, not cracked." he groaned. His right arm hung uselessly at his side as he finally managed to get his left elbow underneath him and lift up slightly out of the water. "Need to sit." he said as he tried to push up higher. Then all Danny could do was watch in disbelief, as Steve's phone that he had forgotten about, slid from his chest into the water. As the display light faded and went out he muttered. "Great, Williams, way to go; lose your only means of communication why don't you."

"Get up and move Danny. You have to get higher or you'll drown." 

"Huh," Danny gasped. "Steve?" he said as he looked around. No, that could not have been Steve's voice because Steve was having brain surgery. "Great, now I'm hearing things." Danny continued to look around and realised there was a log within two feet of where he lay. If he could just get to that log and prop himself up, then maybe he could survive until Chin and Kono reached him.

Chin and Kono ran through the forest followed by two EMS personnel and a couple of HPD officers. They were getting closer now. The signal was not too far ahead of them when suddenly it was gone. "Chin!" Kono exclaimed as she stopped suddenly. "Chin! I've lost the signal. It's just gone."

"He must have just dropped the phone Kono. Danny will be all right, we'll be there in less than five minutes." Chin tried to believe what he said, but he knew, as did Kono, that it didn't take much water or five minutes for someone to drown.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny collapsed against the log; it had taken everything he had to drag himself the two feet from where he'd originally fallen. The water was running faster now as the storm got closer. Thunder roared overhead and lightening was almost constant. The wind had picked up and was blowing all kinds of debris around, a lot of it ended up in the gully. 

With his left arm anchoring him to the log, Danny could do nothing to protect himself from the wind born debris. He simply made himself smaller as he hunkered down to wait it out until Chin and Kono found him. "It better be soon," he said to himself as the storm reached new intensity.

It was tough going for the rescue team. They now had to battle the wind as well as the rain and that slowed them down, but Chin kept them all moving together. Nothing good would come of losing one of the rescuers. 

Kono had the last co-ordinates of Steve's phone and was able to lead the group right to the gully where they expected to find Danny. It had been ten minutes since their last communication with him and the weather was worse now. As they all stood at the edge of the gully and looked down, Kono gasped. There was no sign of Danny and the water was running down the gully at a fierce rate. "No. No. No. He can't be gone. Where is he Chin?" she begged as she looked left and right up and down the gully.

"I don't know Kono, but we'll find him, he has to be here." Chin took a rope from his pack as he spoke. "You heard him his knee was damaged and he could hardly move. Here,” Chin handed the end of the rope to an HPD officer. "Secure that, I'm going down there."

Once Chin had put on a harness and was fastened to the rope he made his way down into the gully. "Danny! Danny where are you?" he called.

His words were whipped away by the wind, but Danny must have heard him as a weak voice came back to him. "Chin? Help I can't hold on much longer."

Chin turned quickly upstream, the direction he was sure the voice had come from. When he failed to locate Danny he called again. "Danny, call out. Where are you?"

"Here, Chin!"

Suddenly Chin saw him. He was covered in debris and clinging to a log not thirty feet in front of him. If he hadn't called out Chin would have missed seeing him entirely. It took mere seconds to close the gap, but in that time Danny lost his hold on the log and slipped under the water. Chin lunged forward and just managed to grab onto Danny's left hand as he was pulled downstream by the water. "I've got you!" he exclaimed.

Chin, who was now sitting in the water, pulled Danny against him, but as he put his arm around Danny's chest to hold him Danny gasped and cried out in pain. "Danny? I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Ribs," was all Danny managed through clenched teeth.

An EMT, who had also been attached to a rope, made his way over and knelt down in front of Chin and Danny. "We need to put you on a backboard so we can lift you out of here". Danny nodded. "It won't be easy and I can't give you anything for the pain until I can assess you." Danny nodded again his eyes tightly closed.

By now an HPD officer had joined them and together he and Chin managed to hold the backboard above the water as the EMT secured Danny to it. Then they carried him out of the gully. Danny had groaned in pain once during the whole procedure then was quiet and Chin realised that he had lost consciousness. "It's probably for the best." The EMT said when he saw Chin's look. 

The trip out of the gully was slow and awkward. Chin soon realised that the EMT was right, it was good that Danny was unconscious he did not need to be in that much pain. Once they were out Chin realised that Kono and the other HPD officer had been busy erecting a shelter. It wasn't much, but it would allow Danny to be assessed in relative calm.

There was not much room in the shelter, so once Danny was placed inside, Chin had to move out to make room for both EMT's to work. They had another shelter with them, which was soon up and Chin, Kono and the two HPD officers sat inside waiting for word on their friend. 

It seemed like hours later, but turned out to be only about 30 minutes, when one of the EMS technicians came in to tell them of Danny's condition. "He's stable, but we need to get him to a hospital soon. He has a number of injuries the worse of which are at least two broken ribs. I don't like his breath sounds, one rib may have punctured a lung, but for now he's breathing okay."

"What else?" Chin asked. "He told us his knee was injured."

"Yes, it's either dislocated or broken, can't tell without x-rays, so we've immobilized it. I think his right arm is broken in two places, one for sure. Again, x-rays will tell. He has an injury to the back of his head, but his pupils are equal and reactive so probably only a sight concussion."

"Is he awake?" Kono asked.

"He woke up a few minutes ago and is asking to see you Chin, something about wanting to know how his Neanderthal SEAL partner is doing?" Chin and Kono both smiled.

"Yeah, trust Danny to be more concerned about Steve than himself." Chin pushed himself up. "I'll go talk to him." But before he could exit the shelter the EMT continued.

"Wait! Before you go, how long is this storm supposed to last? I don't want to try and walk him out of here."

"You go Chin. I'll call and find out when a rescue helicopter can be dispatched." Kono suggested. Chin nodded to her and left.

It took another hour for the storm to pass and a helicopter to be sent to take Danny to the hospital. Kono fretted the whole time, not only about Danny, but Steve who, as far as they knew, was still in surgery. Chin tried to soothe her, but it was only when she finally got to sit with Danny that she seemed more content. Danny was unconscious again, but Kono sat beside him and held his hand whispering quietly too him.

Chin had been unable to give Danny any news on Steve's condition simply because he didn't have any, not until after Danny was whisked away in a Medi-Vac chopper. He and Kono where halfway back to Queen's Medical when Chin's phone rang. "Hello. Lieutenant Kelly."

"Lieutenant Kelly. This is Doctor Planton from Queen's Medical. I'm calling to update you on Commander McGarrett's condition following surgery."

"Yes doctor, how is Steve?" Chin asked.

"The surgery went well, we were able to relieve the pressure and stop the bleeding." There was a pause during which Chin and Kono looked at each other and both knew bad news was coming. Doctor Planton continued, "However, the Commander has lapsed into a coma."


	5. Chapter 5

Danny had been flown to Tripler Army Medical Center, so Chin dropped Kono off at Queen's to be with Steve, and he continued on to Tripler. It had been more than an hour since Danny's arrival so Chin hoped that he wouldn't have to wait long for an update on his condition. When he entered the E.R. Chin headed immediately to the nurses station to inquire about his friend. The nurse was less than helpful as she said that she could not release any information unless Chin was a relative. The normally calm Chin was just about to lose his temper, a rare occurrence for him, when Dr Fry walked up to the desk. 

"Chin? When Danny was brought in I expected to see Steve not far behind him." He looked towards the entrance doors. "Will he be here soon, because Danny is not making any sense. Keeps going on about Steve being a Neanderthal idiot, and needing brain surgery."

Dr Fry had treated Danny in the past and Chin was never so happy to see the man. "Steve is at Queen's in a coma Dr Fry. They finished the brain surgery Danny's referring to about an hour ago." Chin led Dr Fry over to some seats and the two men sat facing each other. "I'll explain everything if you tell me how Danny's doing."

"Okay." Dr Fry said as he ran his hands through his hair. He knew the whole Five-0 team fairly well, and didn't like to think that any of them could be hurt that badly. "Danny is doing fairly well. His right arm was broken in two places and we now have it cast from shoulder to wrist. That old tear in his ACL has now been re-torn and will require surgery this time. He has a mild concussion, but the worst injury is to his ribs. It looks like someone punched him repeatedly in the chest and abdomen. There are two broken ribs on his left side, three cracked ribs on his right side, and severe bruising to his abdomen. One rib did bruise his lung, but luckily there was no puncture, and we've detected no internal bleeding in his abdomen either."

Chin sighed in relief. "That's better news than I thought I'd hear. So he'll make a full recovery? When can I see him?"

"Not so fast. It's your turn now." Dr Fry held up his hand to stop Chin from rising. "Tell me what happened to Steve."

When Chin was finished explaining Steve’s prior accident, and the events of the day, Dr Fry looked pensive and said, "So you think that it was Steve who hurt Danny? But they are like brothers Chin. There's no way Steve would ever hurt Danny." 

"I don't know doc. All I do know is that Steve came back without Danny and couldn't remember what happened. Fallen, the man they went to arrest does not strike me as the type to beat anyone, and besides he was also beaten. It had to be Steve, but I need to talk to Danny and find out what really happened out there." Chin looked at Dr Fry expectantly. "So, can I see him now?"

Dr Fry stood. "Yes, of course, come with me and I'll take you too him." The room Danny was in had two beds, but only Danny occupied the room. "We didn't have any private rooms available." Dr Fry commented as Chin looked from Danny to the empty bed. "Don't worry we'll not put anyone in here with him."

"Thanks doc," Chin said as he walked up to the side of Danny's bed. "Hey Danny, how are you doing brah?" 

Danny's eyes flew open, "Chin? How's Steve? I need to see him." Danny tried to push himself up to get out of the bed.

Chin knew the best thing for Danny was rest, but that would never happen until he knew about Steve's condition. "If you relax I'll tell you about Steve. But if you're going to keep trying to get up and make your condition worse, then no, I won't." Chin crossed his arms and waited.

A look of annoyance crossed Danny's face followed by contrite. "Okay," he said as he settled back into the pillows. "I'll be good. But I'm fine."

"No you're not, but I'll let that go for now." Chin snagged a chair from the corner and sat down beside the bed. He gave Danny a detailed account of what transpired after Steve walked into Five-0 headquarters looking for Danny. "So I dropped Kono off at Queen's on my way here. She'll call if there's any change in Steve's condition." As he finished Chin looked expectantly at Danny as he waited for him to relate what had happen on the North Shore.

Danny sighed, he really didn't want to go over what had happened, it was still too painful and he found it hard to deal with the fact that Steve had hurt him. Rationally he knew that Steve would never do what he'd done if he were in his right mind, but it still distressed him. Chin was still waiting patiently and Dr Fry, who had come back into the room, also stood waiting. Danny finally figured it would be best if he just got it all out and then maybe he could move on. 

By the time he'd finished his account of the events on the North Shore Danny was exhausted. "So when I woke Steve was gone, but I had his phone. You know the rest, Chin."

Chin, who had recorded Danny on his phone, now put the phone away. "Thanks, Danny. I know that was hard for you but it was necessary." Chin stood. "I'm just going to go call Kono and fill her in on your condition and what happened. Do you want me to call Grace? She's still with her mother in Las Vegas, right?"

"Just tell her I'm tied up with a case and I'll call her in a couple of days." Danny requested.

"Okay, you rest now." Chin headed towards the door.

"No!" Danny exclaimed as he again tried to push himself up. "I need to see Steve."

"Steve is not even in this hospital Danny," Chin said in frustration as he came back and held his friend down on the bed. "You are in no state to leave this bed, let alone leave the hospital to go visit Steve." Looking expectantly at Dr Fry, Chin hoped he would have a solution to this as he knew Danny would keep insisting on seeing Steve.

Dr Fry moved up beside the bed and pulled a syringe from his pocket. "Danny, I'm going to give you a mild sedative to help you relax and sleep. I promise that when you wake up we will have found a way for you to see Steve. Okay?" Not waiting for a reply Dr Fry injected the contents of the syringe into Danny IV.

"Not fair, doc," Danny said as the drug took over and he relaxed. "I will get to see Steve. You can't keep me here against my will. When I wake, I'm leaving." With that Danny fell into a relaxed sleep and Chin hoped it stayed that way, but he doubted it. Danny's subconscious would probably have him fretting about Steve's condition sooner rather than later.

Chin and Dr Fry walked into the corridor. "Doc, maybe we can transfer Danny to Queen's? That would put him closer to Steve at least."

"Actually Chin, I was thinking the opposite. Let's bring Steve here. I checked with Doctor Planton while you talked to Danny earlier. He says that Steve is stable and he expects him to wake up sometime in the next twelve to twenty-four hours. He's not on any life support and breathing on his own, so there's no reason we couldn't put him in this room with Danny." 

"You are a life saver Dr Fry." Chin stated. "That is the best solution to this problem. Can you arrange it?"

"Yes, no problem. I'll have Steve transferred here within the next two hours." Dr Fry turned to go make the arrangements, but then turned back. "I think you had better stay with Danny until Steve arrives. If he wakes before then I don't want him hurting himself more by trying to leave."

"Will do, doc. I'll just call Kono first. Then I'll go back in and sit with Danny." Chin pulled out his phone to make the call. "Thanks again doc." he said.

Two hours later Steve was wheeled into Danny's room on a gurney, Kono close behind him. Danny was still sleeping but had started to become restless half an hour ago. Chin figured that it wouldn't be long before Danny woke and again demanded to see Steve. But now he could do that without leaving his hospital bed and maybe the two friends would help each other to heal, because Chin was sure that Danny was more affected by this than he was letting on, and he knew that when Steve was told, or he remembered what he'd done to Danny, he would never forgive himself.


	6. Chapter 6

It was less than an hour after Steve's arrival that Danny woke suddenly. "Steve, no!" he cried. It was obvious to Kono, who sat beside the bed reading a magazine, that Danny had just had a bad dream. The subject matter of the dream was also obvious.

Kono jumped up and put her hand lightly on Danny's chest. "Easy Danny it's okay. You're okay." 

Danny's eyes searched the room looking for some kind of a threat. He didn't remember his entire dream, but he felt that he was in danger somehow. Finally his eyes landed on Kono and he relaxed. "I'm okay now, Kono. Thanks for being here for me."

"Anytime, Danny, we are Ohana, that's what we do." Kono stood between Danny and Steve's beds effectively blocking Danny's view of Steve. Chin had come to stand on the other side of Danny's bed and looked worriedly at Kono. This was not a good sign, especially if Danny's dream was about Steve's attack on him. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, Steve in the same room with Danny.

"What is it Chin?" Danny had caught the look between the cousins. "Is it Steve? What happened? Is he alright?" Danny tried to push up with he left arm but Kono easily held him down.

"Steve is fine Danny." Chin answered. "Dr Fry had him transferred to Tripler from Queen's. Are you sure you're ready to see him though. That dream looked pretty intense and seeing Steve may not be the best thing for you right now."

"I'm fine, Chin." Danny said adamantly. "I want to see Steve."

"Okay. Kono?" Chin nodded at Kono who moved aside so Danny could see Steve. But as he looked at him Danny's heart rate soared. He was glad there was no heart monitor attached to him or the nurses would have come running. He pushed the moment of panic down. Steve was still unconscious and could not hurt him. 'This is ridiculous, it’s Steve; he never meant to hurt me. I know that.' Danny thought. He gripped the sheet tightly with his left hand and bit down on his bottom lip. 'You can control this fear. Pull yourself together Williams.'

Chin watched the effort it took for Danny to control his emotions. Yeah this had definitely not been a good idea, they needed to move Steve to another room, and soon. "Look Danny, I'm going to have Dr Fry move Steve to another room. You're not ready for him being this close to you. Not after what he did."

"No, Chin." Danny shifted slightly on his bed so that he was facing more towards Steve. "I have to come to terms with this." Danny studied Steve. The more he looked at him the calmer he felt. He could do this. Steve was not the aggressive SEAL who had attacked him. He was just his partner and best friend. The man he trusted with his daughter's life as well as his own. They had shaved the right half of Steve's head and Danny could see a tube taped there to drain excess fluid from his brain. It wasn't a pretty sight and made Steve look vulnerable which helped calm Danny even more. Yes he could do this, be in the same room with Steve and not panic.

It was another day before Steve showed signs of waking. He became restless and would occasionally call out in his sleep. Usually it was Danny's name he called, but it was always Chin or Kono who tried to soothe him as Danny was forbidden to get out of bed by Dr. Fry. Somehow Steve always knew it wasn't Danny, but he would eventually relax again when they spoke to him.

Dr Fry had insisted on Steve having an MRI to make sure there was no additional bleeding in his brain. Now he had the results and hurried to the room where the Five-0 team had all taken up residence. When he entered the room he smiled and shared the good news with them. "Steve's MRI is good. Dr Planton did an excellent job repairing the slow bleed. In fact, I intend to remove that tube from his head shortly."

"He's become restless Dr Fry." Chin ventured. "I think he's trying to wake up."

"That's good. Let me just get a nurse and we'll remove the tube. After that we'll see if we can't get him to wake up for us." Dr Fry left the room in search of a nurse and the equipment he needed. Chin and Kono looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Danny was dealing very well with being in the same room as Steve, while he was unconscious, but how would he react when Steve was awake?

Chin looked at Danny. "Are you ready for Steve to be awake?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Danny sighed. "Besides, when Steve remembers, or finds out what he did, he'll berate himself enough, he doesn't need me to add to that." Danny's condition had improved considerably in the last day. Dr Fry was even planning on doing the surgery to fix his ACL soon. His ribs were healing. The bruising to his abdomen, while still painful, was not nearly as bad as just a day ago. His broken arm would take time to heal and his ACL, once the surgery was done, would also heal. He did have an impressive bruise to the left side of his face along with a cut held together by butterfly bandages. The concussion he'd suffered didn't bother him at all as he wasn't able to get up anyway and the pain medication he was on kept the headache away. 

Steve woke slowly. Someone was knuckling his breastbone and it hurt enough for him to break through the fog that clouded his head. He knew instantly that he was in a hospital but couldn't remember why. "Danny?" he croaked in confusion. 

"No, Steve, it’s Doctor Fry. I need you to answer a few questions then you can see the rest of your team." Steve had still not opened his eyes, so Dr Fry rubbed his hand on Steve's chest again. "Come on open your eyes, everything's okay and you're in the hospital."

Steve cracked his eyes open to slits, when the light didn't make his headache spike, he opened them fully. He looked at Dr Fry, then Chin and Kono and realised there was no Danny. "Where's Danny?" Steve tried to push himself up, but Dr Fry's hand on his chest held him down.

"Danny is right over there," Chin indicated where Danny lay in the other bed.

The sight of Danny in the other bed did not help Steve relax, he became more agitated. "What happened to you? Why can't I remember?" He asked his partner. He could see a bruise and cut on Danny's face along with a cast on his right arm, what else was wrong with Danny?

Dr. Fry moved to block Steve's view of Danny. "You need to answer my questions before anyone tells you about what happened to put you both in here. Okay?" 

Steve looked up at the doctor and knew he wouldn't win this battle so he nodded. Mistake, now his head hurt ten times worse than it had before. "Oh! Why does my head hurt so much?" Steve groaned as he raised his right hand to touch his head. 

Dr. Fry intercepted Steve's hand before it reached his head. "You had brain surgery Steve. There was a slow bleed in your brain from the accident you had three weeks ago. Do you remember that?" At Steve's slight nod the doctor continued. "Okay, well I have a set of question for you to determine if there are any residual effects. Chin, could you pull the curtain and wait with Danny, I think a little privacy is in order."

"Sure doc," Chin said as he pulled the curtain between the beds. "Danny, you okay?" he asked softly as he realised that Danny was swallowing convulsively and had broken out in a cold sweat, Kono was holding his hand keeping him calm. 

"No. I'm not okay Chin. I thought I could do this, now that Steve's awake I'm not so sure." Danny let go of Kono and ran his hand through his hair. "What am I going to do Chin? How can we still be partners if I break out in a cold sweat when I'm in the same room as Steve?"


	7. Chapter 7

Once Dr Fry was finished his evaluation of Steve he started to pull the curtain open but stopped when he saw Danny's face. He knew that Danny was having a hard time coming to terms with what happened on the North Shore, and now realised that Steve being awake had only made things worse. "Steve, I just need to leave this curtain while I check on Danny. I'm sure Kono or Chin will come and sit with you." He looked pointedly at Chin who nodded and moved around the doctor and up to Steve's bed.

"Tell me what happened, Chin." Steve came right to the point as Chin snagged a chair and sat down beside the bed. 

"First, I need you to tell me what you remember, Steve." Chin settled into the chair and prepared to wait Steve out. Steve looked at Chin in annoyance, but when Chin crossed his arms, Steve knew he'd have to talk first as Chin could be just as stubborn as Danny always was.

"The last thing I remember is going up to the North Shore with Danny to find Wally Fallen. He was hold up in a motel and when we knocked on his door he escaped out the bathroom window." Steve looked a little puzzled. "I think there was more than that though. I remember Danny being mad at me for scaring Wally into running. I may have threatened him."

"Yes, you did," Chin answered. "Then you broke down the door. Do you remember what happened after that?"

"I ran after Wally into the forest."

"No, Steve, before that. What happened when you and Danny entered the room?"

Steve frowned as he remembered more. "Danny tried to stop me going after Wally," Steve gasped. "He wanted me to go see a doctor, but I pushed him aside and climbed out the window." Steve shifted uneasily in the bed. "I caught up to Wally and tackled him. That's all I remember, Chin." 

"When you tackled Wally you hit your head, Steve." Chin supplied.

Steve put his hand up and felt the bandage on the right side of his forehead. "So I was knocked out? That's why I can't remember anything after that?" Chin shook his head no, but before he could say any more Dr Fry interrupted him.

"Okay, that's enough for now," Dr Fry said as he came back around the curtain. "I want you to rest Steve. You are not to get out of this bed, for any reason." At Steve's frown Dr Fry continued. "I mean it Commander. You have recently had brain surgery." Dr Fry motioned for Chin and Kono to follow him out of the room. When they were all in the hallway he continued. "I think it's best that you don't tell Steve what happened right now. It would be best if he remembered on his own."

"What if he doesn't remember?" Kono asked.

"If he doesn't remember, then we'll have to rethink it, but I'm sure that the memory is there, he's just having trouble connecting with it." Dr Fry sighed. "We have a bigger problem than Steve’s memory right now."

"Danny!" Chin said with a sigh.

"Yes. He's not handling being in the same room as Steve at all well, now that Steve's woken up. I think it would be best to move one of them out."

"And just how do we explain that to Steve?" Kono questioned. "He'll want to know why, and you know he will not rest until he gets an answer."

"What if we keep the curtain pulled?" Chin suggested. "We can tell Steve that Danny's sleeping. That should work for a while anyway, and one of us will stay with them at all times."

"Alright." Dr Fry conceded. "We'll try that, hopefully it will work. Kono, you push the button on Danny's pain pump to release a dose it’s almost time anyway then he really will be sleeping. Chin, I can't give Steve anything now as he's only just woken from his coma. You'll have to talk him down and get him to sleep if you can. I'll come back in a couple of hours and see how they're doing."

Chin and Kono both re-entered the room, Chin going to Steve, while Kono went to Danny. 

"Try to sleep," Kono whispered to Danny. “We'll stay with you and keep the curtain closed for now.” Danny nodded and settled down further in the bed. He was sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep, not with Steve being awake on the other side of the curtain. The fear he had was unreasonable, he had to get past it, but he felt so tired. Maybe Kono was right and he should sleep, when he woke up he'll deal with being in the same room as his SEAL partner.

Steve watched as Chin came back into the room and once again sat in the chair beside his bed. He'd seen Kono come in behind Chin and go to Danny's bed, but either seemed inclined to open the curtain. Steve looked at the curtain, then at Chin. "Danny's trying to sleep Steve so we thought we'd leave the curtain like that for now. You should get some sleep, too."

Something was wrong. Steve could feel it. The cousins were acting strangely and Danny had not spoken a word to him yet. He needed to remember what had happened after he tackled Wally. It was there just out of reach, he could almost grab onto it, and he would sooner or later. But the more he tried to remember, the worse his head hurt, until finally Steve realised that Chin had stood and was talking to him.

"Steve! Steve! Stop! Just give it time. You can not force the memories to surface. Dr Fry thinks it will all come back in time, so you just need to be patient. Okay?" Chin had placed his hand on Steve's arm as he tried to get through to him. Now he gave Steve's arm a squeeze as he sat back down. "Danny's going to be fine you don't need to worry about him, just relax and get better."

"How, Chin? Something happened out there and Danny got hurt. I need to know." Steve shifted in the bed as he could feel his body betraying him with a strong need to sleep. He wanted to stay awake and remember, but his eyes closed of their own accord and soon he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

In the other bed Danny was also sleeping. Kono released the pain medication as Dr Fry had instructed. She'd expected Danny to object, but instead he smiled at her with gratitude. Kono wasn't sure if Danny was grateful because he needed the medication, or because he wanted to avoid dealing with Steve. What she did know was that the two partners would have to deal with what happened soon or it would drive them apart.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day when Danny woke Steve was still asleep. Chin had gone home to freshen up and sleep, while Kono sat over by the window reading a magazine. As he lay there Danny realised that the curtain had been opened and he could now see Steve. There was no sudden increase of his heartbeat, no cold sweat as he'd experienced the previous day. He could do this, he told himself, because what had happened was not Steve's fault and he would be able to get past it.

Danny watched as Kono noticed that he was now awake and she put down her magazine, stretched like the tigress Danny knew her to be, and stepped up to the bed. "How you doing brah?" she asked quietly. "Do you want me to close the curtain?"

"No, I'm fine Kono." Danny looked over at Steve. "I need to put this behind me and I can't do that if I don't face Steve."

"Okay, but you need to take this slowly." Kono said as she moved to sit in the chair between the two beds. She wasn't sure what would happen when Steve woke, but if she was between the two partners Kono felt she could at least do something to help.

Danny had dozed off again when Steve woke later in the morning. "Hey, Kono, how's Danny?" were the first words out of Steve's mouth as he looked at his sleeping partner.

"He's good Steve, how's your head?" Kono moved to Steve's bed which drew Steve eyes to her.

"It's been better, but it doesn't hurt as much as before." Steve looked over at Danny again and realised that Danny was looking back at him. "Hey Danny, are you alright?" To him Danny looked nervous, maybe even a little scared. But that made no sense to Steve. They were safe now there was no reason for Danny to look that way.

Danny had to swallow before he could answer Steve's question. His throat felt so tight from the emotions running through him at the sight of Steve awake. "I'm fine," he finally managed. "Nothing a few drugs and rest won't cure."

Steve had not missed the convulsive swallow before Danny answered him. "Okay, one of you needs to tell me what's wrong!" he queried as he tried to push himself up and out of the bed. Kono immediately stood and moved to stop Steve. She put her hand on his chest and gently held him down. 

But it was Danny who spoke. "Listen you hard headed SEAL. You had brain surgery and I know you think you're invincible, but you're not." Danny raised his bed so he could get a better look at Steve. "Give it another day, Steve. If you still don't remember what happened, I promise, we'll tell you what you want to know." Anger had replaced all the other emotions and Danny found that it helped him. "Now you are to stay in that bed until doc tells you otherwise. Do I make myself clear?"

Steve held his breath, Danny seemed angry with him, why he was not sure, but at least they were talking again. The partners' gaze held for a while and Steve was the first to look away. "Alright Danny I'll stay put, but I'll hold you to that promise. I need to know what happened after I tackled Wally. I can almost remember, but there's a haze around it. If you'd just give me a little hint, I'm sure it will come back."

"Tomorrow, Steve, I promise." Danny knew that Steve needed to know, but he didn't look forward to telling him. He was sure that Chin would be willing to tell Steve for him, but Danny was also sure that the story would have to come from him. He owed Steve that much, because he should have made Steve go to the doctor and he didn't, so in a way it was his fault that any of this happened and certainly not Steve's.

The rest of the day passed quietly. Chin came back and it was Kono's turn to go home for a while. Danny had managed to clamp down on his emotion so that the sight of Steve being awake no longer bothered him. The partners talked about different subjects but never the reason they were both in the hospital. Towards supper time Kono came back carrying coffees for everyone and a bag of Malasada's. Danny immediately raised his bed and waved her over to his side of the room. "I think I'm in love with you Kono. Those are Malasadas in that bag, right?"

Kono laughed, "Yes Danny, and I love you too." She deposited a coffee cup and the bag on Danny's tray pushing it so he could reach both, before she bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she moved over to Steve and gave him a coffee and a kiss on the cheek as well.

"Hey, what's this?" Danny objected at the sight of Kono kissing Steve. "Two-timing on me already?"

"Well I love Steve too," Kono answered cheekily a huge smile on her face. Everyone laughed just as Dr Fry entered the room.

"Glad to see you all in such good spirits," he smiled at them all. "So Steve, you want to try getting out of that bed? If you can stand on your own, I'll allow you to start taking short walks, first around this room, then down the hallway. But you must have someone with you, you understand?"

"Yeah, doc." Steve started to move the covers aside. Kono moved quickly back to Danny's bed and stood talking quietly to him at the same time blocking his view of Steve. When Steve slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed facing Danny Chin walked up and pulled the curtain again. "Why did you do that, Chin?" Steve asked, "I wanted to go over and see Danny."

"I don't think Kono needs to see more of you that she already has," Chin answered smoothly as he indicated that Steve's gown was open at the back. 

"How about you just walk around your bed and then get back in? Next time we'll get you something better to wear." Dr Fry added. Steve seemed to accept what the two men said, but there was a slight frown on his face as he thought about the way Kono had moved over to Danny so fast and blocked his view.

A few minutes later when Chin reopened the curtain, Kono sat on Danny's bed as the two of them ate Malasadas and talked softly. Danny even managed to smile at Steve as he teased, "Getting you sea-legs back Steve?"

"Yeah, I'll be up and around in no time." Steve bantered back. But really he was exhausted from just walking around his own bed and was ready for a nap.

Steve was again allowed out of bed during the evening. Chin had brought him a t-shirt and shorts to wear, but Danny was sleeping, so he walked around the room and then went back to bed. He was sure that Chin, or doc, had deliberately planned that he get up when Danny was asleep, but he couldn't be sure.

When night time came, Kono again went home leaving Chin to watch over their teammates. Around two in the morning Danny was in the throes of a nightmare and called out in his sleep. "Steve no! Stop! It's me Danny!" His left arm was raised as if to ward off a blow. Steve had woken at Danny's first groans and when Danny called out he was beside his partner in a second. "It's alright Danny. I'm here." He placed his hands on Danny's arm and shoulder in an attempt to calm him, but Danny's eyes flew open at Steve's words and there was real fear in them now. Danny pushed himself away from Steve and would have fallen from the bed if Chin had not rushed up on the other side and stopped him. 

"Danny, what is it? Why are you scared of me?" Steve asked as Danny tried to get himself under control. Steve blinked once and closed his eyes as memories assaulted him. He'd done this to Danny, that's why he was afraid of him. He had hurt Danny, just as he'd hurt Wally. It wasn't someone else. It was him. That's what his team were trying not to tell him. 

Steve stepped back away from the bed. "I did this to you." Steve gasped, "That's why you don't want to tell me what happened, why Chin keeps closing the curtain, you don't want to be around me. You are scared of me!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chin settled Danny back into the bed and now walked around to Steve. Danny was still breathing heavily and not able to say anything yet. "Steve." Chin said as he took hold of Steve's arm. "Yes it's was you who hurt Danny, but you were not yourself at the time and Danny knows that. He does want you here in this room, with him. Otherwise why would doc have let you stay here?"

Steve moved back further until he bumped up against his bed. Chin encouraged him to sit. "What do you remember, Steve?"

"Most of it I think. I remember after I tackled Wally I started beating on him. I was so angry and then Danny tried to stop me. I didn't recognise him, Chin. I thought he was someone who wanted to hurt me." Steve ran his hands over his face as he fought for control over his emotions. "I broke his arm and then started hitting him but he managed to get away. Somehow he handcuffed me around a tree, I think." 

"Yeah, that was not easy you were in full SEAL mode there, Steve." Danny said. He was now calm and fully awake. This was not how he'd wanted Steve to remember, but now that he had they needed to talk it out or he could see Steve retreating from him out of guilt. "After I handcuffed you to the tree I tried to get your phone, mine was broken, but you kicked out and knocked me down into a gully. When I came too you were gone."

Steve blinked and remembered more. "I remember walking into headquarters looking for you Danny. I couldn't remember why I was by myself in the Camaro, but I knew I needed to find you and tell you that I needed to see a doctor just like you wanted, but you were there Chin?" Steve paused and thought some more. "I don't remember much after that until I woke up here."

"That's because you were out of it Steve. The doctors at Queen's had to do emergency surgery to relieve the pressure building in your brain." Chin explained. "Kono and I were on our way to the North Shore to look for Danny when he called us using your phone. A Medi-Vac chopper brought him here and Dr Fry decided that it would be best if you were here as well." Chin looked over at Danny. "Danny here was threatening to leave AMA so he could be with you at Queens."

Steve looked at Danny and smiled. "Just how were you planning on doing that Danny? It doesn't look to me like you could even stand right now."

"Maybe not. But I managed to pull myself out of the water enough so I wouldn't drown even with broken ribs, a broken arm and a bad knee, so I would have found a way to get to Queen's." As soon as the words left his mouth Danny wished he could take them back. The colour drained from Steve's face and Chin threw Danny a reproachful look.

Chin eased Steve down onto his bed and sat beside him. "Steve, let me explain what happened after you left Danny in the forest and made it back to headquarters." 

Danny could only watch, and berate himself for saying what he did, as Chin filled Steve in on the events leading up to Danny's arrival at Tripler. Steve was quiet throughout the explanation, much too quiet for Danny's liking. The colour had returned to Steve's face, but he had avoided looking at Danny and when Chin finished he simply closed his eyes. 

With a pointed look at Danny, Chin moved away and sat in the chair by the window. He knew that he'd done all he could, it was now up to Danny to repair the harm he'd caused with his words. 

"Steve, don't do this, don't retreat from me. I need you to talk." Danny said as he raised the bed so he could get a better look at Steve. "Come on partner. You have to use your words so I know what is going on in your head."

"Why would you even want me to talk to you after what I did? Now I understand everything that's been going on since I woke up." Steve finally looked over at Danny. "I can't be your partner anymore Danny. Not knowing that I hurt you like that."

"Yes, you can, Steven, because it wasn't you that hurt me, not really. You didn't recognise me because of your head injury and saw me as a threat. That ingrained SEAL training took over and I ended up hurt. But that wasn't you, my partner, or you, my best friend. I know that and I will get past it." Danny sighed. "Anyway, it's really my fault that this whole mess happened."

"What?" That statement brought Steve out of the funk he found himself in. "Why would it be your fault? I don't understand?"

"It's my fault because I knew something was wrong with you and I didn't force you to get help. I should never have let you go up to the North Shore. Instead I should have taken you to the hospital, they would have found the bleed in your brain and we would not be having this conversation." 

Chin stepped back into the conversation at this point. "Okay boys, I think you have thrown enough blame around for now. It's the middle of the night and both of you need more sleep. In the morning when you are both rested we'll work this out as a team. All of us, because Kono and I are not free from blame in this either. We both knew something was wrong with you Steve, and we did nothing just left it up to Danny."

With a shake of his head Danny laughed. "You know what Super SEAL? I see a Five-0 group therapy session in our very near future."

Steve looked from Danny to Chin and then back to Danny. "I think you're right, Danny." Then he smiled because just maybe everything was going to be alright after all. "So how about you Book It Danno."

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it for this story. I hope you all enjoyed reading it, I know that I enjoyed writing it.


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